Nightmares
by CD2698
Summary: Outlawqueen one-shot. Regina has a nightmare and Robin comforts her.
1. Chapter 1

She had fallen asleep so easily. Robin's strong arms surrounding her, his warmth adding to that of her own. Her arm draped lightly across her bulging stomach. Sleep had come so, _so_ easily…

Regina opened her eyes. Her surroundings caused her to startle. How the hell had she gotten into the Enchanted Forest? Something squirmed in her arms. She looked down to find a pink blanket nestled in her arms. The blanket let out a cry. A baby? Her baby?

The blanket hid her daughter's face from view. Regina reached to remove the obstacle when a snarl caught her off guard. She clutched the infant closer to her, making the baby cry harder and louder.

"Regina…"

Regina squinted at the shadows. "Mother?"

"Regina, darling, give me the baby," her mother's voice called to her.

But instead of her mother emerging from the treeline, a snarling gray wolf came into sight, its back hunched and teeth bared. Regina gripped her child even tighter and took a step backward.

"Regina…" another voice called out to her. "Regina, my only friend. Won't you give me your darling baby?"

A second wolf emerged from the shadows opposite of the first, this one with a light, gleaming yellow coat. It growled at her, though the sound reminded her more of a dragon than a wolf. The baby's cries were becoming more and more frantic. Regina hushed her as she kept her eyes on the two wolves advancing towards her. A snarl from behind caused her to jump.

A sickly looking wolf with a dirtied red coat snapped at her nightgown. Its emerald green eyes glittered at her with hatred.

"No, little sister. Give the child to me. Let me have her."

"Stay away!" Regina yelled, though it had no effect on the ever advancing animals. They just continued to snarl and snap at her. Finally, a fourth wolf came into sight. This one—this one glowed like gold in the harsh, cold moonlight.

"There's no use in resisting, dearie. That child will be ours. We will crush her—devour her soul. Then we shall do the same to you."

Its ugly yellow teeth bared at her as she was forced into the center of the group. The baby's cries had turned to unsoothable wails. She tried her daughter as best as she could, but it was to no avail; the child would not be consoled. The wolves continued to advance.

Suddenly, two strong grips wrenched her back. But in the process, she dropped the child, and the wolves pounced. She screamed in horror as she watched the soft pink blanket stain red—red as blood. She struggled with all her might, but the invisible hands weren't going to let her go.

The gold wolf turned towards her, its maw bloodied, its eyes mad with bloodlust. "Face it, dearie. You will _never_ be able to keep your child from us. We will destroy it, and then we will destroy you."

With one last snarl, the wolf lunged at her. Regina screamed before she sat upright, her scream echoing around her. She was in the dark…it was so dark here. She grasped at whatever it was that was trapping her, forbidding her from getting away. She screamed again when a hand grabbed her arm.

"No, please, please leave me alone!" she sobbed into the darkness.

"Regina! Regina, it's me. It's me, sweetheart."

Her eyes frantically searched in the shadows for her husband. Where was he? She knew that was his voice, but she couldn't find his body. She finally found him, lying beside her on the bed. It was his hand that gripped her arm. His voice that soothed and calmed her.

"Regina, love, I'm right here. It was just a dream."

Her breathing began to calm, and Regina felt her heart slow as she slowly recognized the familiarity of the room she was in. Her bedroom—_their _bedroom. There was her vanity against the wall, and her favorite armchair next to the window. The book she had been reading earlier was still seated on its armrest.

She laid her head against the bed's headboard and cried. The tears were something she couldn't control at the moment. They continued to flow as she just sat there and let him console her. Robin sat up and gathered her into his arms, continuing to calm her.

"_Shhh_…it's okay, darling. You're safe, I'm here. It was only a dream." He stroked her arms lovingly and kissed her forehead until her tears subsided and her breath returned to completely normal.

She turned to look at him. "Robin…"

"It's alright, Regina. You don't have to apologize."

He'd read her mind. She felt bad for waking him. He barely got enough sleep as it was, what with Emma calling him at all hours of the night to help her with different things at the station, then having to go to work at the Animal Shelter. He frequently came home and fell asleep on the couch. Tonight was one of the nights when he wasn't going to have to get up and go somewhere, and she had ruined his chance at a good night's rest.

"But you have a day off tomorrow. I was going to let you sleep in…"

He silenced her with a kiss. "Regina, I don't care if it wasn't my day off tomorrow. I'm always here for you, no matter what the situation." He looked into her eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She looked at him quizzically.

"Your dream, I mean."

She sighed. "I…I was in the Enchanted Forest. I had _her_ in my arms. She was wrapped in this pink blanket, but it covered her face so I couldn't see her. I went to unwrap it when…when my mother called out to me. Then a wolf came, and then a second, and a third, and a fourth. They were all calling to me, telling me to give them the baby; that they would get her anyways.

Then someone grabbed me from behind and made me drop the baby. They made me watch as the wolves grabbed her and…and…and…"

Regina broke down into a sobbing mess once more. Robin just held her, tears of his own forming in his eyes. Her nightmares were often things that caused her to stay awake all night for fear of them. They tormented her with horrifying images of her past deeds, showed her gruesome and dementing things—some things so terrifying they nearly drove her to insanity.

"Who were the other wolves?" he asked, knowing that talking about it would help her to think and calm down.

Regina placed a hand on her swollen abdomen. "Maleficent, my sister…and Gold."

Robin hissed with distaste at the mention of the imp's name. He'd tried to kill her and their unborn child before. Had nearly caused her to lose her child. If it hadn't been for Robin and Emma showing up at the right moment, she might have been sitting there talking to him.

"You listen to me. That rat is not going to get anywhere near you or Avah!"

She smiled at him. "Avah? I don't believe we agreed on a name yet, dear."

Robin blushed. "I know. It's…it's the name I've been using in my head. I saw it on your list the other day when I came home. Dumb, right?"

She stroked his cheek. "You have a way of reading minds, my dear."

"You mean, that was the name you were going to pick?"

"I admired Queen Eva when I was a girl," she told him, laughing at the irony. "Never thought I was going to end up being her replacement."

Robin chuckled softly. "Feeling better now?"

"Much. Thank you, Robin."

"Anything for you, my queen."


	2. Hey Readers!

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading this quick little one-shot that's been floating around in my head! I have tons of ideas just like this, but I would love for all you readers to give me some prompts that you would like to see become a full blown one-shot or story! Just pm me the details!**

**XO,**

**CD2698**


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